Our Sunrise ShoutOut on Friday, May 12, 2017, goes to Daisy Troop 404 from Newburgh. They were a winner of a national Girl Scouts contest! Congratulations and thanks to the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana for sharing their photo.

Thin Mints are still the reigning favorite but the newest Girl Scout Cookie, S’mores, could knock it off the top spot.

“It’s my new favorite,” Erica Rummel said as she loaded boxes of cookies into an SUV at OFS Brands Plant 8 Tuesday. “They are amazing. Thanks-a-lots used to be my favorite but S’mores is my favorite now.”

Rummell is the troop leader of Troop 349 in Huntingburg and has served as the Cookie Chair for the South Dubois District the past three years. She said she’ll be rationing out a case of S’mores for herself, and maybe sharing some with her family, over the next year.

44News This Morning anchor Shelby Coates spoke with the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana along with the Director of Marketing Madalyn Bradley. And we also had Emma and Mariah from the Girls Scouts here in the studio.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts selling cookies, and to celebrate, there is a new cookie called Girl Scout S’mores. It’s not only a year of selliing cookies, but also 100 years of girls learning skills such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics, that is designed to make them future leaders.

For the cookie sales, pre-orders are going on right now. Cookies will be delivered February 13th, and that is when there will be cookies booths popping up all over our region.

You can also contact the council office at 812-421-4970 or visit Girl Scouts.

“Out-of-school experiences help girls develop real skills like teamwork and perseverance—skills that she’ll need to do well in school and throughout her life,” says Girl Scouts Chief Girl Expert, Developmental Psychologist Dr. Andrea Bastiani Archibald. With these tips, it’ll be fun and easy to find the right fit for your growing girl.

You can never be too prepared and that’s exactly what Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana thought when they teamed up with the Red Cross to help their community become more prepared for emergency situations. The girls sewed tote bags, and filled them up with emergency supply kits for local senior citizens—sounds like all the seniors appreciated such a thoughtful gift!

During Spring Renewal and Bridging season&comma; it is exciting to look forward to the year to come in Girl Scouts&period; It is also important to look further ahead – to the futures of our girls and our Movement&period; In order to stay relevant and competitive in an ever-changing and technology driven world&comma; a dues increase for the 2017-18 membership year has been approved by the GSUSA Board of Directors&period;

Beginning October 1&comma; 2017&comma; membership dues for girls and adults will be &dollar;25&period; This was approved as part of a three-year strategy that also includes enhanced program experiences in STEM&comma; Outdoors&comma; and Life Skills&period; A focus in those areas teaches girls the skills they need to lead and succeed in the businesses of tomorrow&comma; as well as developing an interest in bettering their communities&comma; advocacy&comma; service&comma; and global issues&period;

The additional funding will also help ensure that our volunteers receive the support and resources necessary to continue to deliver high-quality Girl Scout experiences&period; One example of the enhanced support is the Volunteer Toolkit&comma; which will allow volunteers to spend more time with the girls and less time on administrative tasks by helping plan an entire year of impactful activities to ensure girls receive the best Girl Scout experiences possible&period;

Although this decision was made at the national level and no part of the fee is kept by GSSI&comma; our girls and volunteers will benefit from this investment&period; More information can be found in this&period;&period;&period;

The all-new Girl Scout volunteer digital badge acknowledges your dedication to fostering emotional, intellectual, and physical growth among girls in your community. You believe in the mission of Girl Scouts, are an asset to our youth's future, and are devoted to making the world a better place.

Girl Scouting is an incredible experience on so many levels&period; As Girl Scout adults&comma; we have the honor&comma; responsibility&comma; and privilege to build girls of courage&comma; confidence and character who make a difference in the world&period; Not only do we get to see the impact we have on the girls&comma; we also have the opportunity to work with amazing people&period;

The GSUSA adult awards are one way that we try to formally recognize the contributions of volunteers whose service has been exemplary&period; Award recipients are nominated by their peers&comma; reviewed and endorsed by a council committee of staff and volunteers&comma; and approved by the GSSI Board of Directors&period;

Volunteer of Excellence

The Volunteer of Excellence award recognizes volunteers who have contributed outstanding service while partnering directly with girls in any pathway to implement the Girl Scout Leadership Experience through use of the National Program portfolio or who have contributed outstanding service in support of the council’s mission delivery to girl and adult members&period;

Donna Marvel

Kathy Messmer

Sheryle Mills

Tonya Sander

Appreciation Pin

The Appreciation Pin recognizes an individual’s exemplary service in support of delivering the Girl Scout Leadership Experience&comma; with impa&period;&period;&period;

Want to make sure the girls in your life know they can do and be anything they want? Then it’s time to flex some muscle and start busting gender stereotypes! Girl Scouts’ Developmental Psychologist Andrea Bastiani Archibald, Ph.D. puts it this way: “Kids have this amazing, natural ability to see the world as limitless, but when adults signal that certain things or behaviors are off limits for kids based on their gender, their worlds get smaller and smaller—and that’s not just sad, it can be damaging as well.”

Welcome to Aimee Stachura, who will be joining Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana as the new Chief Executive Officer. Most recently, Aimee served as Director of Children's Ministries at First Christian Church in Evansville.

Previously, Aimee served as Senior Director of Membership, Program, and Volunteerism at GSSI. Her first day will be October 10.

We are very pleased to have Aimee on board, and we hope you all will welcome her back to GSSI.